Motorola

Getting wearable critics cooing is difficult, but Motorola seems to have struck a nerve with the MOTO 360. The circular smartwatch may, at its heart, be simply another Android Wear device, yet its enthusiastic embracing of a new form-factor and the technologies to enable it have already cast a shadow over models from LG and Samsung. For once, buyers are planning to hold out and wait for the Motorola option, something increasingly rare in a market dominated by Apple and Samsung. In fact, you have to go a long way back in Motorola’s history to find anything similar: back to 2004, and the RAZR V3.

If you’re excited about the next flagship from Motorola, you’re not alone. The Moto X was a great example of how an OEM should handle Android, and leaves many who have one clamoring for the next iteration. So far, little has been known, but a slip-up in South America might have blown the cover off what many are calling the X+1.

When Motorola disbanded in the sale to Lenovo, their ATAP division stuck around at Google. A neat idea they were working on was digital tattoos, which makes your entire body an “authentication token”. That’s come to life — sort of — via an NFC enabled tattoo.

At the Google I/O conference this week, the search company showed off Android Wear, the latest Android iteration and the technology that it hopes, will carry it to the top of the wearable marketplace. To help it get the platform there, Google has enlisted the help of three companies – Samsung, Motorola, and LG. All three of the firms have built hardware, but two of the companies – LG and Samsung – are actually offering their products right now.

The Android Wear smartwatches may have already been officially announced, but Motorola seems to be not yet ready to go to market. In fact, it has just announced the winner of its watch face design contest, which could be featured on the smartwatch when it does launch.

It can be tough to get excited sometimes in the consumer tech world, particularly in the "me-too" wearables segment, but MOTO 360 stands out like a concept made real. Motorola's Android Wear smartwatch will follow on behind LG and Samsung's models, and isn't due until sometime over the summer, but from my first impressions here at Google I/O it may well prove worth waiting for.

At Google I/O 2014 Android Wear came out with a bang, appearing with three smart watches ready for release later this summer. Starting today both the LG G Watch and the Samsung Gear Live - newly announced today - will both be made available for pre-order.

Lenovo has been working on its own Glass-style wearable, patenting a head-mounted display with twin transparent screens that could capture audio and video. Billed somewhat vaguely as an "Electronic device and sound capturing method" the unnamed wearable uses bond-conduction to record audio and what look to be a set of Lumus displays to give feedback to the user, allowing for true augmented reality rather than just the floating notifications Google's Glass offers.

Android Wear is open source, and Motorola wants design to be as well. The company recently held a contest to discover who could come up with the best face design for their new wearable. The ten finalists have been revealed, and we have to say — deciding a winner won’t be easy.

Ready for a new Motorola flagship? The Moto X is still a favorite, but it’s high time for a refresh. A new batch of leaked images show what’s believed to be the followup, unofficially dubbed the X+1. In addition to the video, we’re also getting details on what the potential specs will be.